Techniques & Tactics's archives

Self employed. The first time I wrote those two words in the space that asks for “Occupation”, I couldn’t help but smile. After 28 years of working for others, this was the first time I was able to say that I now worked for myself.

Don’t misunderstand. I wouldn’t change a thing in my career even if given the chance. I was very fortunate to be able to apply my college degree (Speech Communications, Auburn University ’81) in my chosen profession. But being able to apply that training and knowledge in a self employed manner is different – good, but different.

Editor’s Note: Due to the popularity of this session, PRSA is offering it again June 3, 2015 in NYC.

How often do you actually read or watch the outlets you’re targeting? (I know it takes time; shortcuts coming below).

During my “Pitching Boot Camp” in Chicago this past March, the attendees were crafting pitches with some of the initial tips I’d shared. I was helping here and there when Marc Gutman from Colorado called me over.

I’m not going to say that I never steal away a day here and there to work from home in my PJs, but my days now are filled with power suits and lots and lots of meetings.

I’ve come a long way (7 years to be exact), from those first weeks on my own as a solo PR practitioner, taking conference calls in my PJs and juggling media calls with tumble-n-play classes with my 1-year-old. But I treasure those days, as they are why I left a nice job with a great agency to strike out on my own and see what I could do with a company that bore my last name.

This is a preview of Building a Boutique Agency: From PJs to Power Suits. Read the full post

Work/life balance – is it a myth? It’s a concept I’ve heard all too much about, but rarely seen anyone achieve. I certainly struggle with finding this elusive balance on a daily basis.

Why is stepping away from work – be it after 5 p.m. or for a week-long vacation – so hard?

The explosion of mobile devices and the remote workforce have been both a blessing and a curse. Workers are no longer tied to the office, but that comes with a price. In 2012, a survey found that the average American’s after-hours work equals an extra day of work per week – typically due to after-hours work on mobile devices. This data means the average person is working at least six days a week, while only being paid for five.

Since each speaker offers a unique perspective on how their organizations use public relations research, it’s easy to assume that with the resources available to such large enterprises, their research is more sophisticated, more expensive and more complicated than anything “ordinary” PR people could attempt. It may surprise you to learn that with everything these companies have in common, they also share one more similarity: in each case, their PR measurement journey began simply, inexpensively and on a relatively small scale.

One of the great myths inhibiting wider adoption for research in public relations is the mistaken belief that research is too expensive or too complicated; that real pros know what works and what doesn’t; that they don’t need research to tell them what they already know. While instinct and experience count, each conference presenter can say that in the high-stakes business environment in which we all operate now, the benefits of a good reputation matter more now than ever. Conversely, the penalties for a poor reputation have never been greater. Good research guides decisions that lead to a better reputation and it provides the objective validation that every PR professional needs to communicate PR’s value to the business.

Never before has such a high concentration of top executives and thought leaders from the world’s greatest organizations been assembled in such an intimate conference setting

This is a preview of All That We Share: PRSA PRIME Research Strategic Corporate Communications and Research Conference. Read the full post

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